Tirza Schaefer's Blog, page 6
January 25, 2023
Review for A New Family for Christmas (Tirza's Christmas Tales Book 1) by Jayne Lockwood
R ead more about Tirza Schaefer's Book A New Family for Christmas (Book 1 of Tirza's Christmas Tales) here!
Still wish it was Christmas?
I wish, I wish, there was a way of bottling Tirza Schaefer’s feel-good, lusciously romantic, spiritual and sexy stories into a a magic tonic. We could take it every time we felt bad, and the world would be a much better place, I swear.
You cannot be a cynic if you love Tirza’s books. They are for the light of heart, the believer of true romance, of love conquering all, sprinkled with sugar dust and meant to be eaten like fairy cakes. Honestly. Don’t read this if you like your books dirty and sour-tasting at the end. DO read this if you want the book equivalent of a hug and a box of chocolates.
This Holiday-themed book tells us the story of Anastasia, who takes pity on the homeless Duke and his cute-as-a-button daughter, Cara. After inviting them into her house, she and Duke gradually fall in love, but they have more to find out about each other, even after their whirlwind marriage. Duke has firm ideas about their future, but they don’t line up with Anastasia’s, so they have to find a way through, or risk losing their happiness.
This is a relatively short book at sixty-four pages, but as I’ve come to expect, she packs a lot into a standalone story. Is it a deep-dive look into the issues of homelessness, men surviving after leaving the military, and a woman trying to thrive in business on her own? No, but if you want a magical romance with plenty of heart, little angst and just a bit of heat, this book is definitely work a look.
Jayne Lockwood is the author of deliciously dark romance like The Switchblade Series and many more. You can follow her on her Social Media.
Get A New Family for Christmas (Book 1 of Tirza's Christmas Tales) here!
BlurbTIRZA’S CHRISTMAS TALES are a series of standalone romance novels that all have a Christmas theme. They don’t need to be read in any particular order.
Anastasia has always loved to bake cookies. She has become an expert and now runs an exclusive cookie shop which holds real treasures. However, the one treasure she has always longed for which eludes her is a family of her own. When she loses a lazy employee, she finds herself faced with a princess and a fairytale king which seem to answer her prayers. Her happiness seems complete when Stasia finally has a daughter and a husband.However, the marriage is arranged and although her husband loves his daughter Cara, Anastasia herself seems to leave him altogether cold. But then he returns home one day with a few bruises and tempers heat up by several degrees. In the end, Anastasia is willing to give up the reality of her entire life in order to save her fake family from utter destruction.A move seems imminent, but her husband Duke is not so easily convinced.
Get A New Family for Christmas (Book 1 of Tirza's Christmas Tales) here!
September 6, 2022
Fighter's Heart by A. Rivers (Crown MMA Romance Book 1)
,FIGHTER'S HEART is the first book in the ,Crown MMA series by ,A. Rivers.
Loved it!
This book is such a cute love story, I read it with relish. Lena and Jase work so well together and the two with their sizzling hot attraction for each other that they at first try to resist for various reasons, charmed and enthralled me from start to finish. A fast-paced read that is equally sexy and romantic.
Follow A. Rivers on Social Media
August 29, 2022
Purchased Husband by Noelle Adams (Trophy Husbands Book 4)
,PURCHASED HUSBAND is the fourth book in the ,Trophy Husbands series by ,Noelle Adams, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance, also writes as ,Claire Kent.
Emotional & beautiful!
This book really hit all the right spots, from being real to the HEA, the journey had me smiling, frowning and at times, in tears. I loved it! It was emotional in all the right places, beautiful in character development and storyline and the steamy scenes were well placed and hot. Definitely an author I'll be reading more from! Emotional & beautiful!
This book really hit all the right spots, from being real to the HEA, the journey had me smiling, frowning and at times, in tears. I loved it! It was emotional in all the right places, beautiful in character development and storyline and the steamy scenes were well placed and hot. Definitely an author I'll be reading more from!
Follow Noelle Adams on Social MediaJuly 18, 2022
Nefarious Echoes by Catrin Russell
NEFARIOUS ECHOES is the fourth book in the completed THE LIGHT OF DARKNESS SERIES by Catrin Russell. There I was, thinking Anaya had finally found her place but the beginning of the book plunges the reader, along with our championed female MC headlong into the next disaster, continuing seamlessly from the ending of the previous book, The Resurgence of Light. And for once, it seems beyond the priestess’ powers to cope on her own. Old alliances are split, old friends become enemies and new connections are formed.
,Nefarious Echoes also introduces a host of new characters. After the upheavals in the previous book, one would expect an interval of rest for frayed nerves but Russell drives the plot relentlessly onwards. At times, I wasn’t sure if I could take any more. And I mean that in the most positive sense of the word. Too vivid are the scenes, playing out in my head as if they were happening around me. I had the feeling as if I was watching on a big screen in a 3D movie theatre with surround sound.
The emotional plunges were so deep that you would wonder how your heart has not yet shattered. The storytelling is superb, the characters practically leap off the page and the fast pace of the story, that nevertheless doesn’t lack all the necessary details, moves the plot forward, be it through political strategizing, interpersonal relationships, elegantly written steamy romantic scenes, new ways of light healing, battling or witty banter. Far more than a handful of times, I was leaping out of my seat, I was so invested in the story throughout.
I felt for and with the characters, from good over morally grey to downright evil, they were all multi-layered personalities which made them so realistic. And that goes for humans and demons alike. It was easy to embrace new characters and fall in love with already familiar ones that were moved to a more prominent position in this new instalment.
There were new parallel strands of subplots that seemed separate from each other at first but then, over the course of the book, got artfully interwoven and connections became finally apparent, leaving me stunned more than once at the unexpected developments, even though not all mysteries were resolved – old and new. Then again, we have two more books to read in the series and there must be something left to be said or there wouldn’t be two thick tomes yet.
There is another great battle episode further towards the end. Now you would think, a good high epic fantasy tale lives off these martial highlights and they have definitely served well in the previous instalments, providing much exciting action and suspense. But this one is different. This is quite literally the “Mother of all Battles” and once you read it for yourself, you will understand the intended pun.
I have been raving and gushing about the author’s previous books already and, o ye of little faith, was unable to imagine how this story could rise to even greater heights in this book. However, let me assure you, it does! I bawled like a baby, tears streaming down my cheeks while sobs wracked my body. I clenched my teeth so hard at the suspense that I had to take painkillers for the resulting headache (but it was all worth it, so don’t let that put you off!). At times, my heart broke and then it opened wide and flowed over with love, being so deeply touched. I don’t like to include any spoilers but for this book, I had to put at least a little, which is right at the end and marked, so you ought to stop reading further down before you haven’t read this book yourself.
There are a myriad of examples I could give to show you the author’s great storytelling but this is already turning into one of the longest reviews I’ve ever written. And yet, I feel it is wholly inadequate when trying to do this book justice. The events are often unforeseen, surprising with many twists and turns, so don’t spoil your own reading experience when it comes to the spoiler section below. You’d rob yourself of a wild adventure ride that I embarked on while reading.
So I will leave you with vague assertions as to plot and characters and the advice to make sure you’ve also read the prequels you can download for free when signing up for the author’s mailouts. They are also available in print (and grace my special bookshelf). Reading them is not strictly necessary but it will give you some deeper insight into the backstory of Edric’s past and the beginnings of the priesthood and their fight against demons, thus providing you with an enriched experience when reading the series proper.
Some characters that were less prominent in previous instalments were given more of a central platform here and even the king makes an appearance. My new favourite characters have grown on me in just this way, providing the kind of frustration you get from a superbly constructed slowburn romantic subplot, intelligent wit that triggers belly laughs and the strongest urge to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with them in perilous situations. All of this and more in this one book.
A last piece of advice I’d like to provide you with is a list of items to keep handy:
a bottle of something strong tissues – lots of them – a play sword painkillers and free hands to hold your belly or massage your jaw. a healthy smoothie to combat an extended book hangover may come in useful as wellWhat a ride! I’m looking forward to reading Books 5 and 6, Wake of Sins and The Thousand Year Divide next! (Text below contains spoilers!)
Spoiler AlertAfter asking the author’s permission to go into more detail because I will burst otherwise, I am going to comment here on some highlights that are spoilers, so I advise you to only read this part AFTER you’ve read the book!
My favourite character of all now is Kaedin, former knight in the King’s army and a high-ranking priest for the last twenty-five years. Together with the incomparable Lillith, mother of Samael and former matriarch, this pair has conquered my heart by storm. And their developing romance is a slowburn that gave me the female equivalent of blue balls. And dayummm, is Kaedin hot!
Of all the sexy men in this series, this one stood out to me the most as he is confident but not arrogant or overbearing. He knows what he wants and doesn’t let Lillith walk all over him but gives her a run for her money. He speaks with conviction and has a presence and charisma, cultivated over decades in leading positions, that the younger characters still somewhat lack. He is not without flaws, as are none of the characters who make them so real, but he stands and lives by his convictions.
Lillith, in her own right, is the strongest woman in the entire series. She is used to giving orders and people following them. She is unafraid of opposition, yet not reckless in her diplomatic relations. And Kaedin is the only person who manages to keep her off-balance. Their interaction and banter had me laughing out loud more than once:
“Where are your guards?” he asked.
“Outside.”
He gave her a flat look. “You left them out in the rain?”
“They won’t melt, Master Reed. Stop questioning me on the subject.”
And shortly afterwards, Lillith admits:
“You are too good to trifle with me, Master Reed.”
Do we detect a hint of insecurity in her otherwise impregnable armour?
On a more serious note, we learn of the spiritual origin of the two species, humans and demons, so beautifully explained to Anaya by the shaman that it brought tears to my eyes:
“Different races?” he chuckled. “My child, you still have much to learn. It is humans who have always believed there to be a distinction between humans and demons, yet truly, there is not. We were created equal in the Spirits’ images but individually blessed by them.”
Anaya blinked, her silence telling.
“Humans received the gift of light; potency, courage, yet also warmth, comfort and healing,” he continued. “Demons, however, were blessed by the darkness; power, self-sacrifice, independence, and endurance.”
And later:
“What are the Spirits?”
The grin on the old man’s face could not be contained. “Everything,” he simply stated. “The are the air around us, the ground beneath our feet, the water that flows in our creeks, and the fire that burns within us. They are the souls of every man and every woman to come, as they are of all those already lost. The Spirits are not a single deity, such as the one you depict as your Goddess, for the Spirit of Light is much more than that. The humans’ ability to control their inner light had long been forgotten until your late High Priest was blessed with the knowledge.”
And there is more after that which is so deep and there is so much metaphysical truth clad in the guise of this epic tale’s context and concepts.
There is so much more, I could go on for hours. The aforementioned battle alone took it so out of me, that I felt like I had run a marathon with survival-training style hurdles thrown in at regular intervals. Emotionally. Suffice it to say, when you read this, you will know what I mean and there won’t be a single page that you’ll find lacking. This book is just… WOW!
Books by Catrin RussellThe Power of Conviction (Book 1)
The Path of Salvation (Book 2)
The Resurgence of Light (Book 3)
The Thousand Year Divide (Book 6)
,The Light of Darkness Books 1-3 Boxset
A KINGDOM SCARRED SERIES
DARKNESS DIVIDED SERIES
Deathfall Wraith (Prequel 1)
Follow Catrin Russell on Social Media
Catrin Russell is a Fantasy and Romance author from northern Sweden. Her books are all written in English and are mainly part of the Epic and High Fantasy Genre. However, she does use influences from Dark Fantasy, and a touch of Fantasy Romance.
Growing up outside a small town, basically in the middle of nowhere, Catrin eventually moved to Stockholm, where she studied computer game development and design. Meeting her soon-to-become husband online, she lived outside of London for the best parts of a year, before finally settling down in Piteå, back in Sweden. Since then, three children and two dogs have joined the family.
With a background in design and holding a degree as a registered nurse, she writes novels in medieval settings, with plenty of action and romance. She often brings moral struggles, or highlights issues in society, into her writing. Another subject that is often highlighted is mental health.
Catrin also creates concept art, bringing her characters to life on the screen, and her own cover designs, much of which can be seen on her social media pages.
July 3, 2022
Unwrapping Card Decks: Radiant Rider Waite Tarot
WELCOME TO UNWRAPPING CARD DECKS! Let me introduce you to one of my card decks, tarot and oracle cards, in a video, showing each individual card of a deck with my commentary. Enjoy!
Tirza xxx
This week, we look at the Radiant Rider Waite Tarot in Spanish-English:
https://youtu.be/3JbTKgAcctcPlease don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my ,channel!
For your personal reading, visit my ,services page and choose your preferred option.
June 26, 2022
Unwrapping Card Decks: Angels & Ancestors Oracle
WELCOME TO UNWRAPPING CARD DECKS! Let me introduce you to one of my card decks, tarot and oracle cards, in a video, showing each individual card of a deck with my commentary. Enjoy!
Tirza xxx
This week, we look at the Angels & Ancenstors Oracle deck by Kyle Gray:
https://youtu.be/85oJN7rsbG0Please don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my ,channel!
For your personal reading, visit my ,services page and choose your preferred option.
June 19, 2022
Unwrapping Card Decks: Whispers of the Ocean Oracle
WELCOME TO UNWRAPPING CARD DECKS! Let me introduce you to one of my card decks, tarot and oracle cards, in a video, showing each individual card of a deck with my commentary. Enjoy!
Tirza xxx
This week, we look at the Whispers of the Ocean Oracle deck by Angela Hartfield:
https://youtu.be/9zTG1DMcRYgPlease don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my ,channel!
For your personal reading, visit my ,services page and choose your preferred option.
May 24, 2022
The Light of Darkness Boxset Books 1-3 by Catrin Russell
THE LIGHT OF DARKNESS BOXSET is a collection of the first three books in the completed THE LIGHT OF DARKNESS SERIES. Yes, I have read these books already individually, loved them and given them all epic 5-star reviews and you are welcome to read them on the major platforms and my own blog and social media. Gushing reviews, full of enthusiasm, wild abandon and delight.
And yet, I have interrupted reading Book 4, ,Nefarious Echoes, of the series to reread the first three books in this box set after receiving an advanced copy. I asked for it. I knew the author tweaked the books again while having them recorded as audiobooks and I am frankly so in love with this author that I was already decided that this series is one I would read over and over again because it is just so good. So I was eager to find out about the changes and quite frankly, I wasn’t sure how you can actually make an already perfect book even better still.
Let me assure you that there isn’t only magic between the covers of each book but the author wields her own potent kind because yes, she managed to do just that, the unthinkable, the improbable, the – what I thought to be – impossible; she managed to make it even better still. There are minor changes, a word here, a sentence a little rearranged there, such small things but they make an impact and they are totally worthy of recognition in their own right. Extra points for diligence and devotion to the craft.
The tale itself is one that begins with a priesthood led almost like a sect, indoctrinating the youngest from the earliest ages. They are defending mankind against the demons, waging war and bloody battles. And yet, due to events unfolding, one of the most devoted senior priestesses, Anaya, wholly devoted to the teachings of the Goddess and their High Priest Ekelon, starts to question the doctrine after meeting and speaking with a demon.
I will not go into further detail but I will tell you to read up on my individual reviews of the first three books in this series and also that this story, is epic, beautifully told, full of challenges, adventures and everything a high epic fantasy tale with dark undertones and a generous helping of elegantly interwoven romantic subplots need.
And yet, there is more. There are so many twists and turns, so many unforeseen events. If you like the predictable, you will most likely be offended by the author’s taking liberties and challenging and overthrowing your expectations at every turn. The third book especially is taking the tale into a whole new direction than anticipated and I bet you’ll be sitting there, murmuring “WTF, Sh*t!” or something to that extent to yourself.
And you’re perfectly justified in your reaction. But the author is also perfectly justified in steering the fates of the many characters, tribes and species involved in directions no one would have guessed at. And trust me, it works. Give it a chance before you go all sour only because you have a fixed expectation already.
This series deserves to be up there with the best like Tolkien, Rothfuss, George R. R. Martin, Terry Brooks and so many others that have delighted the fantasy fans of this world over decades. Mind you, The Light of Darkness isn’t like any of them. The author possesses her own unique style of storytelling and the story itself is also unlike any other. But who wants a copycat? As such you must fail because you can never hope to come close to the original. Because you’re not them, you’re you.
And Russell knows this and follows her own heart, mind and inspiration – and whatever it was that made her bring this amazing series to paper.
The world will thank her for being true to herself and gifting us with a unique story with so many delightful characters that leap off the pages and enthral us with their individual, as well as collective, stories. A feast for anyone who loves fiction. Not only fantasy fans.
I can’t wait for the audiobooks of this series to come out and I cannot wait for the series to come on Netflix or at the cinema. Maybe both. Who knows. But it will be an epic saga on big and small screens alike. So make sure you read it, preferably the entire series before you cast your final vote. You’ll love it. And you’ll thank me for it, I am sure!
Books by Catrin RussellThe Power of Conviction (Book 1)
The Path of Salvation (Book 2)
The Resurgence of Light (Book 3)
The Thousand Year Divide (Book 6)
,The Light of Darkness Books 1-3 Boxset
A KINGDOM SCARRED SERIES
DARKNESS DIVIDED SERIES
Deathfall Wraith (Prequel 1)
Follow Catrin Russell on Social MediaCatrin Russell is a Fantasy and Romance author from northern Sweden. Her books are all written in English and are mainly part of the Epic and High Fantasy Genre. However, she does use influences from Dark Fantasy, and a touch of Fantasy Romance.
Growing up outside a small town, basically in the middle of nowhere, Catrin eventually moved to Stockholm, where she studied computer game development and design. Meeting her soon-to-become husband online, she lived outside of London for the best parts of a year, before finally settling down in Piteå, back in Sweden. Since then, three children and two dogs have joined the family.
With a background in design and holding a degree as a registered nurse, she writes novels in medieval settings, with plenty of action and romance. She often brings moral struggles, or highlights issues in society, into her writing. Another subject that is often highlighted is mental health.
Catrin also creates concept art, bringing her characters to life on the screen, and her own cover designs, much of which can be seen on her social media pages.
April 29, 2022
The Resurgence of Light (#3 of The Light of Darkness) by Catrin Russell
THE RESURGENCE OF LIGHT is the third book in THE LIGHT OF DARKNESS SERIES and, unsurprisingly, I loved it. This series is truly going from strength to strength. Each book thus far has been not only a continuation of the story overall but has also contributed something new and unforeseen. The ends make you want more without leaving you with a major cliffhanger, which I appreciate. As the writing and storytelling in and of themselves are so good, that alone is enough to leave you to crave more and get you to grab the next instalment off your bookshelf immediately once you have closed the previous one.
Writing about a third book in a series with an ongoing storyline without giving away any spoilers is a feat when faced with having to write a review that does the book any justice but I will do my best here.
The story takes a rather unsuspected turn at the very beginning already and, to be honest, I can imagine that some people might not like it, resenting the fact that the author breaks away from the black and white good versus evil theme but I absolutely loved it and found it ingenious to do so. I hadn’t seen it coming but I appreciated it all the more as the story unfolds.
I love the depth of the characters, the fact that nothing is straightforward, that all are fallible and have their own very unique strength and weaknesses and that, as people do in real life, they all make mistakes and have moments of glory. A different strand of plot is introduced and only hints give you clues and make you wonder how this will all tie in with the main story’s developmental arc.
As new characters are introduced, older ones undergo further development. Nothing is stagnant, everything flows. The story never gets boring, whether we are amidst compelling action or stroll through a summery wood, lush in detailed description of nature. Even the restful scenes relax but never bore you. You feel you are right there, seeing butterflies dance around you and warm sun rays kissing your skin.
As always, I have read passages out loud to myself and I might just have got up and enacted some of the scenes, too, as I love to do. Of course, this is only possible because the author describes battle scenes and fast-paced action so accurately without losing momentum that you are never at a loss to determine how to move and whom you are battling and how. Fighting scenes are not easy to write in this manner, so I’d like to extend special praise to the author for mastering this so perfectly in all books I have read of hers so far, all prequels included.
I would also like to mention some characters in particular that were either newly introduced or played a continuous part in the story. Anaya is stepping up to the plate and developing her own powers with as much humility as grace and fortitude. We witness moments of great courage but also of weakness and despair. She is not superhuman but rather the opposite, showing her humanity by rising to a challenge but also struggling with her own fears and insecurities while she is finding her new role in a transformed priesthood and altogether new environment.
Then there is Kaedin, a senior priest who has stood out by following his own moral code as opposed to blindly following orders. His responsibilities expand now and he finds himself caught up in another subplot that left me tense with curiosity about how it would continue.
And the list goes on. Those of you who have already read the prequels of this series, especially The Redeemed, will be able to make some connections of their own as the story progresses. But it is not strictly necessary to have read them to enjoy this wonderful, enthralling book (although I do recommend it, as the entire series is already finished), you just get all books in print, put them on your shelf and thank me later for it when you’re able to grab one after the other without having to delay a moment when you have finished with one book and are eager to read the next). I am so excited and happy that I have done it this way and am going through this series in this manner.
I am loving every minute of this story, each page, each book and as I write this review, the next book in the series is already placed by my side for me to dive into. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do but I’m pretty sure you will. You will need a certain mental bandwidth, as this is not a simplistic, one-dimensional story with predictive development and flat characters but as long as that’s a given, you are going to appreciate so much how the author manages to keep you guessing, at the edge of your seat, sighing with happiness, biting your lip with bangxiety and craving to find out what really is behind this, that and the other.
As to the storyline, I have by now learned to expect the unexpected but have made the experience that I am still completely taken by surprise. So much happened I thought I saw coming and then it did but suddenly, things were totally different and then… yeah! Those twists and turns had me literally jump up and groan or roar. Or I stood, book in one hand, air sword in the other, enacting the battle scenes as if I were right in the middle of it, in the body of whoever was told of at any particular point in the book.
To feel into all the different characters with their distinctly unique personalities came so easily. The characters leap off the pages and the action is so compelling that you feel you are right in the middle of it and cannot help but follow the story at fever pitch because it feels like it concerns your own existence.
Another thing that I have to highlight and praise is the fact that the author completely avoids info-dumping. She doesn’t explain and describe her entire world/universe right at the start and overwhelm you with an endless string of information but, over the course of the story, as it progresses, she weaves in information where it naturally fits into the story and is important for you to know at the time in order to follow the story with the understanding that you need at that time. And yes, she will expand your knowledge and awareness by adding small things, little hints or flashback memories of a character, revealing a backstory.
The Resurgence of Light is a book of masterful storytelling with a compelling plot and complex characters! A must for any high epic fantasy fan!
Books by Catrin RussellThe Power of Conviction (Book 1)
The Path of Salvation (Book 2)
The Resurgence of Light (Book 3)
The Thousand Year Divide (Book 6)
A KINGDOM SCARRED SERIES
DARKNESS DIVIDED SERIES
Deathfall Wraith (Prequel 1)
Follow Catrin Russell on Social MediaCatrin Russell is a Fantasy and Romance author from northern Sweden. Her books are all written in English and are mainly part of the Epic and High Fantasy Genre. However, she does use influences from Dark Fantasy, and a touch of Fantasy Romance.
Growing up outside a small town, basically in the middle of nowhere, Catrin eventually moved to Stockholm, where she studied computer game development and design. Meeting her soon-to-become husband online, she lived outside of London for the best parts of a year, before finally settling down in Piteå, back in Sweden. Since then, three children and two dogs have joined the family.
With a background in design and holding a degree as a registered nurse, she writes novels in medieval settings, with plenty of action and romance. She often brings moral struggles, or highlights issues in society, into her writing. Another subject that is often highlighted is mental health.
Catrin also creates concept art, bringing her characters to life on the screen, and her own cover designs, much of which can be seen on her social media pages.
April 14, 2022
The Path of Salvation (#2 of The Light of Darkness) by Catrin Russell
After the first book proper, ,THE POWER OF CONVICTION, with THE PATH OF SALVATION, the second book in ,THE LIGHT OF DARKNESS epic fantasy series by Catrin Russell, I am finding myself already faced with a problem that I’ve only expected to occur in such magnitude later on in the series. And that challenge is to write everything I experienced reading this book, everything that happens in the story, doing it all justice, and yet, not giving away any spoilers.
You see, the problem is, this book is so full of a rollercoaster ride of emotions, so thick in twists and turns in the plot that I didn’t see coming, I cannot give you any details, really, without giving vital things away that you should totally experience yourself. Because, what a ride that is going to be!!!
So for this, I must concentrate mainly on the emotional part and character development of this second book and in this, there is already so much to write. Take Anaya, for example. She has been raised in the priesthood from small, having a mindset akin to a religious sect, you could even say, the members of the priesthood, especially those who have spent their lives and even childhood there, are completely brainwashed and senior priestess Anaya, and also the older senior priestess Adena, are the prime examples of this.
If you draw parallels to sects in real life where members have been driven to serve a great master, commit mass suicide, and so forth, you will find parallels in the psychological makeup of these members and what author Catrin Russell describes in these main characters in her priesthood. Even the more rebellious, free-spirited ones like Edric and Kaedin still don’t question the fundamental core beliefs. Until events unfold with Anaya at their centre when meeting the panther demon Samael that create a ripple effect of finally questioning the teachings and fanaticism of their High Priest Ekelon.
Of course, nothing is straightforward. Just as in real life, nagging doubts occur, at first, to be silenced and reasons found to talk yourself out of it. You find arguments to strengthen the leader’s teachings and justify his or her superior wisdom. You have faith and you don’t want to shake the foundations of all you have known to be true and right in your life. There is an emotional bond, a feeling of great gratitude and devotion mixed with the fear of the unknown, the new, the danger of losing your friends, your community and even facing retaliation by them.
This process of budding doubts, of awakening awareness and questioning comes in an ebb and flow, in a sprouting of new seeds planted and first pulling them out like weeds but upon their return, having to face them again, unable to let go entirely. Because you can’t undo your spirit striving for freedom. In thought and deed. And when love is involved, that is the highest power there is.
So there comes a time when the protection of your love overrides the protection of your belief system. Even for people in communities with so much mental force and control as a sect or a priesthood as we encounter in The Light of Darkness.
Once Anaya finds herself on this path of mental liberation, it is interesting to see who follows her and takes her side, at first in secret and later in open confrontation, the details of which, I will leave you to discover. You will be surprised, however, I promise.
But Anaya’s story, though standing at the center of this series (thus far and I think it will continue this way) is not the only one. There is the young healer Lenda who starts on her path from being a bashful, sweet and shy teenager to becoming a formidable – and courageous – haler in her own right. Edric, the former criminal and victim of child abuse learns to trust and love his new wife Vixen a formidable warrior who has broken down all his defences one by one as she would break her opponents’ defences on the battlefield.
And yet, neither of them is as predictable as it seems at first. Edric finds renewed strength while old wounds open up again and again, bleeding and festering, and Vixen has to face her own (metaphorical) demons that threaten to destroy her mental health and relationship with her husband.
But the humans are not the only ones who stand to have to face changes and challenges. Samael, the Prime Protector of the Panther Tribe has to face the consequences of his actions. His entire world is turned upside down and on top of it, he also has to contend with the pressure his mother, the formidable and headstrong Matriarch of his tribe, exerts on him in general and even more so now because of the recent events.
Lillith is a mother worthy of her feline demonic form. She is strong, unafraid and has no patience with opposition or tiresome people. She will face her son’s wrath brought on by the “bond” he has formed unwittingly, and yet, she is also unconditionally loving as a mother and honours the traditions and spirituality of her people greatly without being blinded by fanaticism like the High Priest Ekelon who keeps amassing life subjects in his cave he uses for his inhumane experiments on demons. To bring it to the point, one thrives, while the other is slowly digging his own grave.
And that brings us to Samael, the demon that has got the ball rolling not only in Anaya’s head but most of all in her heart. As a loner and socially inept person without any ambitions towards wielding power over his own people as he was intended to, he undergoes his own very drastic change and growth as Book 2 of this series unfolds. He is no longer only responsible for himself alone and when the point comes where he has to acknowledge that a) old prophesies are not merely a lot of hot air, and b) he develops a budding desire to take his place in society after all with the knowledge of having greater responsibility now, not only for himself alone, any longer.
All these feelings he isn’t familiar with drive him to distraction and urge him into directions he doesn’t understand is neither familiar nor comfortable with. But he embraces them nonetheless and in doing so, shows more humanity than most humans do in this story.
The Path of Salvation is full of seeming opposites, of conflicts internally and externally. There are curveballs life throws at the characters that had me gasping for air in pain, in relief, in joy and in abject terror. The final scene in the first book had me in tears and so did the first of this. And those weren’t the only tears I shed throughout reading this book.
I was so moved at times, that I had to jump up and clap my hands with glee, take time out to stem the flow of tears to regain clarity of vision enough to continue reading and all the other emotions under the rainbow. I was clutching my heart at the sweetness of Lenda’s and Eden’s innocent and pure love for each other, facepalming myself repeatedly over Edric and Vixen, despising Adena and Ekelon with a vengeance – and the list goes on.
The book hangover from this instalment was quite severe and it took me a couple of days to even write this review because I had to work through my own emotions still after I had finished reading. Needless to say, though, I am dying to dive right into the third book, ,THE RESURGENCE OF LIGHT.
As to the storyline, I have by now learned to expect the unexpected but have made the experience that I am still completely taken by surprise. So much happened I thought I saw coming and then it did but suddenly, things were totally different and then… yeah! Those twists and turns had me literally jump up and groan or roar. Or I stood, book in one hand, air sword in the other, enacting the battle scenes as if I were right in the middle of it, in the body of whoever was told of at any particular point in the book.
To feel into all the different characters with their distinctly unique personalities came so easily. The characters leap off the pages and the action is so compelling that you feel you are right in the middle of it and cannot help but follow the story at fever pitch because it feels like it concerns your own existence.
Another thing that I have to highlight and praise is the fact that the author completely avoids info-dumping. She doesn’t explain and describe her entire world/universe right at the start and overwhelm you with an endless string of information but, over the course of the story, as it progresses, she weaves in information where it naturally fits into the story and is important for you to know at the time in order to follow the story with the understanding that you need at that time. And yes, she will expand your knowledge and awareness by adding small things, little hints or flashback memories of a character, revealing a backstory.
Russell uses different stylistic tools to enhance and expand your understanding and knowledge of her world and characters, their way of life, background and also the laws that govern the magic, biology and life in the characters’ respective societies, demons and humans alike. In this, it is not like someone dropping a huge boulder on your head but more like easily and unhurriedly with every natural breath, blowing up a balloon. It’s perfect and I love it. Especially as I could never have retained all this information (of which I am sure there is so much more to come), had I been presented with it all at once at the beginning without having any connection to the world or the people and creatures inhabiting it. The ease and natural flow with which Russell weaves her strands of events as well as interlinking information into one big, ever-expanding whole, is uncanny and ingenious.
So if you are not afraid of the intensity of the emotions this book brings forth, the surprises that have you gasping for air and the challenges that characters face that will also make you question your own views of the world if you’re not completely braindead, you will want to start reading this series right now. The good thing is, it is already complete, so at whatever pace your progress, you do not have to wait for the next instalment anymore.
Books by Catrin RussellThe Power of Conviction (Book 1)
The Path of Salvation (Book 2)
The Resurgence of Light (Book 3)
The Thousand Year Divide (Book 6)
A KINGDOM SCARRED SERIES
DARKNESS DIVIDED SERIES
Deathfall Wraith (Prequel 1)
Follow Catrin Russell on Social MediaCatrin Russell is a Fantasy and Romance author from northern Sweden. Her books are all written in English and are mainly part of the Epic and High Fantasy Genre. However, she does use influences from Dark Fantasy, and a touch of Fantasy Romance.
Growing up outside a small town, basically in the middle of nowhere, Catrin eventually moved to Stockholm, where she studied computer game development and design. Meeting her soon-to-become husband online, she lived outside of London for the best parts of a year, before finally settling down in Piteå, back in Sweden. Since then, three children and two dogs have joined the family.
With a background in design and holding a degree as a registered nurse, she writes novels in medieval settings, with plenty of action and romance. She often brings moral struggles, or highlights issues in society, into her writing. Another subject that is often highlighted is mental health.
Catrin also creates concept art, bringing her characters to life on the screen, and her own cover designs, much of which can be seen on her social media pages.
